


A Heart’s A Heavy Burden

by The_Fangirl_Sunstorm



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: (Morgan is Howl and Sophie’s son), (the second book in the series), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Set after Howl and Sophie’s reunion in Castle in the Air, Short Drabble, mentions of past pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29204694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm/pseuds/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm
Summary: She reached for his hand and he gripped hers back tightly, as if she would disappear if he let go.
Relationships: Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	A Heart’s A Heavy Burden

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I haven’t actually read the books, but hopefully this fic is still canon compliant. 
> 
> I watched the Howl’s Moving Castle movie recently and fell in love with the plot and characters. I read the wiki summary for the book series, so I know the gist of what happens in Castle in the Air and wanted to play around with the idea I had for this drabble. Hope you enjoy!

Howl sat on the edge of his bed, gaze vacant as he stared unseeingly at the opposite wall. His eyes raised to the door when Sophie returned from putting Morgan down in the nursery, but fell again before he met hers. Frowning at the flash of shame she had seen on his face, Sophie sat beside him, silence lingering in the air for a long moment while she gathered her words.

She reached for his hand and he gripped hers back tightly, as if she would disappear if he let go.

There was something vulnerable about the hunch of his shoulders that made Sophie think of the day she gave him his heart back. Sophie remembered the feeling of cradling it in her hands, how small and fragile it had seemed. In many ways, Howl still had a child’s heart, and in this moment she could feel the turmoil of his thoughts radiating off of him in waves, even as the wizard did his best to clear his face of emotion. She ached to comfort him, to find some way to ease the sting of both of their suffering.

“I know it still hurts.” Sophie said gently, brushing her thumb along his skin in soothing circles, a similar motion to how she had gotten their son to sleep. The air was heavy as she finally broached the subject of their recent separation, but she pressed forward nonetheless. “It’s allowed to hurt you know. Your heart I mean. You don’t have to be strong for me.” Sophie said.

She waited another moment before speaking again, giving her husband time to absorb the words.

“I was scared to death too, and as relieved as I feel to be with you again, it’s only natural that those feelings wouldn’t disappear right away.” She said.

Howl lifted his head at that, and Sophie felt something in herself twist sharply as she took in his glistening eyes. The pained look on his face matched her feelings exactly. Her own loneliness and terror that she had carried since their separation surged in her chest, and she felt her own strength give way as she released his hand and buried her face in his shoulder, suddenly needing the same comfort she had been trying to give him. Howl moved quickly to embrace her, tucking her tightly into his chest. 

“ _Sophie, Sophie, Sophie._ ” Howl repeated her name under his breath, over and over like a prayer, steady and relieved. Like something precious and vital to him had just been returned, which she supposed it had. She gripped the fabric of his shirt with equal fervor, craving the physical closeness as much as he must have been. 

They stayed like that, wordless, and just held each other for a long time. To Sophie it felt as if her world, which had been spinning out of control since she had been forced to leave the moving castle, had finally found balance again. 

“I missed you more than I can possibly explain Howl Jenkins Pendragon.” Sophie managed to say. 

“I felt lost without you.” He admitted, whispering the words into the crown of her hair. “It was worse than not having a heart, to know that you were out there somewhere, _pregnant_ and alone with any number of terrible things that could have happened to you and I wouldn’t have known.”

“I know, I know.” She said, remembering the primal fear of finding herself in so vulnerable a position; trapped in a cat’s body and wandering the mountains.

“But I’m here now,” she reminded herself as much as him. “I’m here, and Morgan and I are safe and I’m never leaving again.”

“Never.” He agreed, pulling her impossibly closer. “I’ll protect you both until my last breath.”

“And I will love you until mine.” She said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism are all welcome.


End file.
